Some Newspapers Pull Doonesbury Cartoon

April 23, 2002

[Jenya]

Some Newspapers Pull Doonesbury Cartoon By ELIZABETH McKINLEY, AP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A few newspapers around the country edited Friday's "Doonesbury" comic strip to remove an expletive used by a character injured while fighting in Iraq, and at least two newspapers pulled the strip altogether.

In a story line that began Monday, B.D., a football coach-turned-soldier, lost a leg after being reactivated in the Army at the end of 2002.

In Friday's strip, his doctor explains how amputees go through a grieving process that starts with denial, followed by anger.

In the final panel, B.D. curses from behind a hospital curtain, skipping the denial.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning comic strip written by Garry Trudeau appears in 1,400 newspapers nationwide. The Anchorage Daily News declined to run the strip, instead publishing a note saying the comic "contained an unnecessary profanity."

The (Nashville) Tennessean also declined to run the comic. Editor Frank Sutherland said in a column that it uses language "we consider inappropriate for newspaper use."

The Green Bay News-Chronicle in Wisconsin edited out the expletive.

"I'd have a hard time printing that phrase as a direct quote in a news story, let alone as part of a piece of fiction on the comics page in big, bold letters," editor Tom Brooker wrote in a story published Friday.

The Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, also removed the expletive.

"Context is everything," managing editor Mike Burbach said in an article explaining his decision. "In the Beacon Journal, 'Doonesbury' runs on the comics page. In that context, we decided it was best to bleep out the bad word."

The Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune ran the strip on its editorial page instead of the comics section, and said the move would be permanent.

The strip's distributor, Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate, said newspapers weren't contractually allowed to edit the strip, and the syndicate said it planned to contact those that did.

"I don't know what will happen," said Kathie Kerr, a spokesman for Universal Press. "It may just be a heads up just to refresh their memory about the protocol."

Kerr said 11 newspapers had called Universal to talk about the strip. She said she knew of two papers that were not going to print Friday's installment but declined to name them. Newspapers are not required to inform the syndicate when they pull a comic strip.

Trudeau said he started the story line to illustrate the sacrifices American soldiers are making.

"We are at war, and we can't lose sight of the hardships war inflicts on individual lives," said Trudeau, who began writing "Doonesbury" in 1968 while a student at Yale University.

The strip has a history of addressing controversial topics.

Just before the 2000 presidential election, at least two newspapers pulled an installment that accused George W. Bush of cocaine abuse. In February 1998, at least four newspapers refused to run strips about accusations that President Clinton had sex with a White House intern.

04/23/04 18:10 EDT

[lentulusgracchus]

Why didn't all papers do this to this and other comics like it (including our Mallard Fillmore) from the get- go?

Concurring BTTT. All the political strips (and "Mallard" is about as political as they get) need to be in op-ed.

[lentulusgracchus]

I never thought that the countercultural revolution was very funny. Among other things, it has wrecked our schools, killed more than 30 million babies, and produced an insufferable class of narrow-minded leftist politicians.

Concurring BTTT.

And I assume you include the 90+% of J-school entrants who self-identify as liberals and declare their intention of using journalism to effect social and political change among the politicians?

We ought to make journos run for office, just like the people they lie about.

[lentulusgracchus]

....just put the butt in Trudeau's fingers before exiting the elevator car.

LOL! Puuuuuir attitude!!!

[SVTCobra03]

If you include James Carville and Terry McAuful, I'll join you.

Semper Fi.
MACS-5
2nd MAW

[Agnes Heep]

Boy this Trudeau fellow really is a student of human nature, probably one to rival Shakespeare. He knows that war is hell. He knows that people who lose limbs get upset about it. I'm really impressed.

[billorites]

There's nothing funny about this cartoon.

There's nothing controversial about it either.

These hypersensitive newspapers should grow some 'nads.

[billorites]

[I still care]

Trudeau said he started the story line to illustrate the sacrifices American soldiers are making.

And he had George Bush call Condi "Brown Sugar" to illustrate what? That he thinks all Republicans are racist? That there can't POSSIBLY be a relationship of respect between a Republican and a principled black person?

Or has he fallen into the old liberal trap of thinking only liberals can disrespect black people?

[fourdeuce82d]

never funny or clever welll...back in the seventies/early 80s it was funny. and clever.

[Drammach]

Here's an HTML "cheat sheet" that gives you the formats for doing a lot of stuff..

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/757944/posts

If you "bookmark" the page, it is always ready as a reference, just open in a new page or new tab, and hop back & forth to your posting as required for reference.

Oh, Yeah.. Welcome to FR..

[dr_lew]

On Apollo 10

"After Stafford's camera failed, he and Cernan had little to do except look at the scenery until time to dump the descent stage. Stafford had the vehicle in the right attitude 10 minutes early. Cernan asked, "You ready?" Then he suddenly exclaimed, "Son of a bitch!" Snoopy seemed to be throwing a fit, lurching wildly about."

Caused a bit of flap at the time, too, as I recall, although it was uncensored on the National Geographic record insert documenting Apollo 11, along with "I don't know what the HELL happened there."

[Jenya]

Thanks for the help, and to anyone else who helped. I'll get the courage to post a pic yet, lol.